


The Morning After

by JackieSBlake7



Category: Blake's 7
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-11-07
Packaged: 2018-07-24 19:38:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7520557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackieSBlake7/pseuds/JackieSBlake7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Travis has regrets after his birthday</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Travis was glad he had booked leave for the day after his birthday as well. Especially after a visit to Space City, with a group of troopers.

What he could remember had been most enjoyable.

One of his last coherent memories - at present - involved comparing tattoos, and which ones he and his companions would have next. The consensus seemed to be for 'whatever Bayban the Beserker had.'

Travis became aware of a prickling sensation on the back of his hand, which was bandaged... recalled a visit to a tattoo parlour.

He now remembered he had had Bayban's tattoo done to him "as a birthday treat".

Gingerly he removed the bandage.

Blake lost his position at the top of Travis' deletion list.

Written in lurid colours, and with an unevenness that indicated that the scribe was never destined to be a top professional, across his knuckles were the words 'MAEMMY DAEREST.'


	2. The Morning After 2

Travis was satisfied with developments.

The tattoo artist was used to "celebrating troopers" and had used a mildly irritating temporary tattoo process. Travis had been sufficiently amused by the ingenuity not to pursue the matter further, beyond ensuring that the idiots who had accompanied him on his trip to Space City him would benefit from a spell saluting civilians in obscure postings.

However, Bayban the Beserker, on being informed, indirectly, of the incident had lived up to his name, and done some *very* spectacular damage to Space City while trying to find whoever had been disrespectful to his mother. He had brought a number of Space Rats with him (mainly to stop them rubbishing his sidekicks) and they had had an enjoyable time, appropriating various interesting equipment. (Travis had approved of their taste in leaving the vastly overpriced and overrated "antiques" and "designer objects" behind.) 

Travis had also asked Bayban to "deal with" the moon disks. Unlike the military Bayban and his collection of insubordinates (as he called them) *were* susceptible to the plants' telepathic "sweet little moon disks" projection - aided by a Sopron colony (the rocks had been left by a passing ship as "nuisance stones"). They were transported to various locations, some ending up on Kaarn (where they were later to become pets of the new Auron colony). 

With the damage to Space City (more to its reputation than physically) the Terra Nostra suffered a significant decline in profits from visitors to the place: it was also hit by the loss of profits on Shadow. There was a knock on effect with the Federation administration’s finances. Pylene 50 started off as a Shadow replacement. Commissioner Sleer as she was now known, however, did not read the full scientific explanation as to why the effects of the passivity drug would only last six months: like many high ranking administrators her interest in such matters was limited. 

Due to constructing the successor to Star One and other expensive projects, over-extensive reliance on Pylene 50 and a lack of investment in the military equipment to sustain its expansion (and private developments utilising out-of-Federation tax minimising systems) the Federation administration was in serious financial trouble. Many of the middling ranks of the administration were aware of the issue, and, using resources provided at "reasonable" expense by the sentient computers, were ring-fencing the finances for their particular projects. Others - particularly those with technical expertise - applied for transfer to posts in the Outer Worlds and elsewhere previously considered as routine-backwaters and were gratefully accepted - the numbers not being immediately apparent in the general movements of administrators. The effects became apparent over the next few months as the 'high flyers' found that allowing "the plodders doing the routine work" to move elsewhere did not have the expected consequences of freeing up the promotion system - the work still had to be done. The level of the ring fencing had been set fairly generously, partially to fund the sentient computers' projects - and meant, at the end of the tax year, that there was a sudden drop in the central administration's income, but with costs undiminished.  
Orac was diverting funds to its pet researchers to replace the resources of the Liberator and to aiding the rebel movement in general. As many of the administration had their own scams and private companies, it was not considered surprising that “Orac Unlimited” was charging vastly inflated prices for Pylene 50 - draining the Federation coffers still further. (Servalan, as an obscure commissioner in the Outer Worlds, was not aware of how small a percentage of the profits she was getting.) Orac Unlimited’s offers of finance to selected companies were largely welcomed. Many of these arrangements were under the supervision of suitably qualified persons who were active in the rebel movement.

Orac did not release information on Blake’s whereabouts until shortly before the effects of Pylene 50 wearing off were about to become apparent – and thus creating more work than the military could handle. It arranged for a top medical team to be in place as Avon’s team went into Blake’s base along with sufficient rebels and other groups to remove the Federation military presence. It was then a relatively simple task to call in the lines of credit Orac had extended – and arrangements were made for Orac’s "deputies" to take control for a sufficient period of time to get a successful transition and to make them aware that they were, mostly, not going to be willing career politicians. The less economically and politically viable features of the Federation were then dealt with and practical solutions were suggested and developed in ways that were sometimes strange to the computers.

It was gratifying that most of Orac's companions and the researchers it had been in communiction with were willing to join what was now known as Orac's Explorers Unlimited.

The role of the "canny tattooist" in the transformation of the Federation was never known - including to the artist in question.

**Author's Note:**

> A posting to a former discussion group


End file.
